God Rescues Lot 19 1 The q two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, r please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night s and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, t “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 u And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? v Bring them out to us, that we w may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 x Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow y came to sojourn, and z he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with a blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, b bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, c because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord , and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, d “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, e the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. f Do not look back or stop anywhere in the g valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called h Zoar. 1 God Destroys Sodom 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then i the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became j a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had k stood before the Lord . 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God l remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Lot and His Daughters 30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and m lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth. 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father.” 35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. 1 n He is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. 1 o He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

Lot is rescued on the terrible day of the LORD Intro The problem of evil. The Bible's answer: the day of the LORD. Be assured, it is coming. By now we've had the flood, the tower of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and the cross of Jesus. Picks up from chapter 18 two weeks ago. Central theme of hospitality and our treatment of our fellow humans. Above all this passage teaches us of the 'day of the LORD'; terrible and final in judgement; glorious and unstoppable in rescue. 1. Sodom's men want to abuse their guests, v1-11 Hospitality theme again (cf chapter 18): His 'unleavened bread' in contrast to the feast from Abraham. Things are upside down in Sodom. Usually a friendly bed in a home would be preferred to the square. We don't want to be preoccupied by sin, but these kinds of tragic episodes help us be wiser about it. How could this happen? Pride, throwing off restrain, social programming of evil. Recap the roots of Sodom; pride. Natural blessing. Throwing off restrain. Gangland? cf Iliad? cf Ezekiel 16.49-50; Ezekiel reference to the sin of Sodom, pride. Based on its natural resources [cf parallels today]. And cf the point in Ezekiel in judgement on Egypt, because Pharoah got to thinking and taking credit himself for the nile. 'Both young and son'; ie everybody. Generational. 'To the last man'. It has become normalised. And they collectively insist on perpetuating and protecting this false moral compass. cf examples of this. They hate him for appealing to right and wrong; that makes him self-righteous in their eyes. Whether they ever accepted him or not before, they revert to their dislike of him as a foreigner. Lot trying to save face (fear of man) before the gang of men, by offering his daughters? His own moral compass gone askew. Hospitality and saving face placed above care for his own daughters. He opts for a way out that can never be any good. cf situational ethics. Sodom has, at least for a moment, taken residence in Lot's soul. Lot has an identity issue. Abraham had appealed to their kinship earlier, yet Lot has chosen these guys. NB sitting 'in the gate' of the city shows he is integrated, perhaps even a civic leader, there. The Sodom community had little regard for Lot, whether or not he was an elder. cf his sons in law. Lot opposes them, which is good. But he calls them brothers, perhaps trying to calm things down. They do not treat him in any way like a brother. These are the people he left Abraham for. In what sense is Lot 'righteous'? Righteous in respect/relative to Sodom? In his care for the stranger/alien? Righteous because he was linked to Abraham. And cowardly though he seems, he was 'grieved' by Sodom and trying to live differently there in the midst, however clumsily. We must remember this: Lot too was saved. He was declared righteous, by being part of Abraham's blessing. We will meet him in the Kingdom. Cowards, naieve, foolish, people like he and us will be saved by calling on Jesus' name. 'Door', shutting the door etc. Symbolic of the line between the wicked and the righteous. Blindness wasn't punitive, but defensive, to enable escape. Application directions Characters in Proverbs. Simple! Lacks sense! So vulnerable! A danger for those growing up in Christian homes; a naievete. Courage must be learned. By being in situations which require courage. cf Lot's situational ethics. 2 Peter 2.4-10 - righteous Lot, greatly distressed by their conduct cf Pilate going in and out before the hostile crowd. Similar dramatic/literary effect of Lot going in and out of his house. Jesus' teaching and claims have further enraged the crowds. Except those inside Lot's house would pass judgement on the crowd. But Jesus would be given over to die in their hands. And the 'he wants to play judge' offense is like the 'we have no king but caesar'. 2. Lot and his daughters are rescued, but Sodom is destroyed v12-29 v13 'outcry' again. The angels are agents of God's destruction and hence his sparing. The attractive power of Sodom! Battle of wills in leaving Sodom, lots of verbs of will /desire. cf Getting a reluctant child to leave the house, you end up having to do everything for them. The sons in law think he's joking; it's a joke. cf the laughter theme again; God's coming plans are received with laughter. Sons in law are as blind to what's happening as the other men in the city. They physically take hold of Lot and family and lead them out. Not just that God makes it possible for us to be saved, but that he saves us. The Spirit takes a hold of us and leads us to Jesus, who brings us to the Father. cf promise in Gen 12; it all must be interpreted from there; Lot is blessed because of Abraham. His enemies cursed. Therefore be confident that all the families will be blessed. And that those who curse the son of man will be utterly destroyed. Abraham's intercession is honoured, even for reluctant Lot, since Zoar is spared. There are allusions in the conversation between Lot and the angel, to Abraham and YHWH. Smoke and fire, sulfur etc God's divine presence to judge and destroy. De-create. The fertile resources now become tools of destruction. v24 rained down ...from the heavens. cf the flood deluge. Coated in salt? A terrible reminder and lesson. Her heart, affections, were for Sodom. Why we believe in preaching to the heart. Abraham simply awakes to find this. v27 full circle. Abraham stood and looked. As he did in chapter 18 , start and 18.16-33. Did he think of Lot? The LORD 'remembered' Abraham, and so saved Lot. That's the connection. 'Remembered' v29, covenant loyalty of YHWH. cf 'God remembered Noah'. Not that he had forgotten, but that now He activates the next step in his prior covenant commitment. And because Abraham is 'remembered', Lot is delivered. 19.29 conclusion of destruction of Sodom repeats 'where Lot had lived'; alluding to Gen 13 when they separated. Application directions NB here at least there is a clear and definitive judgement. In Judges 19 , there isn't. Sometimes, cf Psalm 88 , there doesn't appear to be any answer from heaven. Jesus on the cross. Our ultimate comfort lies in the definitive judgement to come. cf luke 17.26-30 Jesus wants us to learn from Noah and Lot. People will be utterly indifferent to the idea of coming judgement; 'blindness'. And then the Son of Man will appear. The reality of eternal torment in hell; and God praised for his justice. 2 Peter 2.4-10 again; the LORD knows how to rescue his people from trials. The day of the LORD will come and we will be utterly secure. 4. Lot's legacy is shameful, v30-38 He goes and lives in a cave with his daughters; a response to trauma and abuse? "Let me just keep me and my children safe. People are dangerous." Actually, it's what's within us that is dangerous. He fears a second Sodom. Fear of man again. Irony, it is actually the daughters who will end up exploiting their father. Lot's humiliation cf Noah. But Lot seems hapless. He is sexually exploited. Sets up Ammon/Moab. Future heirs contrast - to end of chapter 19 . I.e., Isaac on the one hand; Moab/Ammon on the other. Glory of God: He indeed judges, terribly, quickly. He indeed shows mercy, sovereignly, according to the power of his promise. FCF: Inhospitality/shameful treatment of fellow man; pride in casting off restrain and laughing at the word of God. Cowardice. The use and abuse of our fellow man. Note classic 'male' and 'female' ways to mistreat; one overt, physical, intimidatory; the other manipulative, scheming. Person of Jesus: He is the merciful rescuer. He comes to rescue us as we actually are, not after we've solved ourselves. He is the final messenger, the true Son, of coming rescue and judgement. 'Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!' Work of Jesus: He becomes the abused, exploited one. Abused by his brothers to death. He bears the dark and terrible day of the LORD, and he is destroyed. He is raised as a new man and thus God's righteous new creation Kingdom is established. Union with Jesus. God 'remembers' his new covenant and declares us righteous, loves us as dear children. We, like all saints before us, and as 2 Peter 2 says, await a new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness. Wrap-up: The problem of evil? The day of the LORD. It has already come, and be assured, it is coming.